Invasion
by steelcrash
Summary: Members of the Autobot forces deal with the appearance of an old friend who just happens to be a Time Lord.
1. Chapter 1

Invasion

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin. "Doctor Who" and the TARDIS belong to the BBC.

Days off weren't unusual for human or Cybertronian members of NEST. What was different was the fact things had been quiet for a while. No Decepticon activity meant a little downtime, but for some members of the joint strike force, quiet wasn't a good thing. Downtime and quiet lead to complacency and certain individuals taking side trips down the road to temptation.

The ancient Autobot, designation Kup, mulled this over in his head as he sat on one of Diego Garcia's beaches, watching the sun go down. He'd been on Earth a few months, was adapting to his new home and a not so new job--heading up Autobot intelligence. Not an easy job, but one he knew well. He'd fallen back into it easily enough, helping take some of the weight off the shoulders of the Autobot second-in-command, Prowl. Kup grunted at the thought of Prowl, who was on duty in ops at the moment. They'd had a rough morning, getting pressed once again by the human called Galloway for information they could not, or under the orders of Optimus Prime, divulge to the humans.

Some, like national security advisor Theodore Galloway were having a hard enough time dealing with one alien race on their little backwater planet. What would they do if they knew the real truth? However, Kup wasn't able to pursue the thought any further. His optics picked up a familiar sound. A sound he hadn't heard in millions of years.

He stood, commed backup.

:Prowl, get Hot Rod. I need you NOW:

-----

The sound was unlike any other in the universe. Unique, caused by a craft as unusual as its pilot. And anyone staring at the spot where the craft dematerialized would see a blue box that looked like a phone booth, which, at the moment, was surrounded. Unfortunately, the box's lone sentient organic occupant was unaware of this as he shouldered into his coat and threw open a door.

He stepped out into the night, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. He inhaled, savoring the scents of the humid night, grinning. Earth. He loved Earth. But wait. Something wasn't quite right with the air. A metallic scent. Something he hadn't breathed in a very long time. Come to think of it, neither were the shadows towering over him. Well, where am I? he thought. Definitely Earth from the scent of things and the feel of the ground beneath his feet. But where and when? And what was that sound and oh dear. . .weapons. He heard the clicks and whines as they onlined. Unusual, the presence of *that* kind of weaponry on Earth.

He looked up, took a step back, frowned. No way. But he shrugged. He'd get an explanation eventually.

"Kup? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing," Kup said.

"Well, I can't say this is fantastic, but it sort of is and wow you look different. . .eh, older. . .quite distinctive. Wisdom looks good on you. . .how long's it been?"

"Not long enough, Doctor," Kup said.

The being known as the Doctor grinned.

"You know you've missed me," he said. "We've had some good times, you and I. Remember? Except that whole thing with the avatar of Primus and Unicron, well, I could've done without that but. . .I know I'm not supposed to talk about it but how've you been?"

Kup tried not to twitch and fought the terrible desire to pull the trigger. The Autobots had orders not to harm humans. And the being standing before him was not human. He looked and sounded human, but he was not human. Not even close. He also felt two pairs of optics on him as he tried to ignore the banter of the sentient organic prattling on about everything under the sun.

Prowl's expression was unreadable as he met his optics for an instant, and Hot Rod looked amused as he watched the alien known as the Doctor.

". . .and I've been all over and haven't encountered any of your kind in a while but I haven't popped over to your corner of the galaxy in quite some time but. . .wait," the Doctor said, looking up at his other captors. "Prowler? That you? Good to see you!"

He switched to the third towering robot. "And you are?"

"Hot Rod," Kup said. "Lad, don't talk to him, don't listen. Just keep your weapon on him until we can decide what we're going to do with him."

:We need to notify Prime: Prowl said.

:I know: Kup said.

"Are we going to stand here all night or are you going to show me around?" the Doctor asked, heading off in the direction of the nearest buildings.

Hot Rod and Prowl took off after him and Kup had to scramble to keep up. Of all the things to happen, this was the absolute worst.


	2. Chapter 2

Invasion

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin. "Doctor Who" and the TARDIS belong to the BBC.

The Doctor made for the first open hangar, which was the one housing the Autobot living quarters. Kup hurried to keep up with the human, who set a very brisk pace, chattering the whole way.

". . .so what's happened to Cybertron that you're all here? Are the Primes still in charge? Are the humans comfortable with having you all running around?"

"About as comfortable with us here as they are you," Kup snapped. "All this time and you still haven't learned to shut up."

"Touchy, Kup," the Doctor said. "What's happened to you?"

"He's ancient and grouchy and missing out on his recharge," Hot Rod offered, grinning toward Kup.

"I'll show you ancient, youngling," Kup said, ignoring the Doctor.

"Kup, we should tell him," Prowl said, stopping.

"Tell me what?" the Doctor said.

"Prowl, there are protocols in place for this kind of thing," Kup said. "Remember?"

Prowl froze, thinking. He then vented air in a sigh. "Want me to alert Prime?"

:Comm him-tell him to meet us in the rec room: Kup said. :I'm not letting the Doctor out of my sight: Kup commed, wanting to keep the Doctor in the dark as long as possible.

:Want Hot Rod to stay? I can get Ironhide, or one of the others: Prowl asked.

:I want to limit his contamination to us for now: Kup said. :Optimus can decide what to do with him:

The Doctor watched the now silent bots for a few seconds, familiar enough with their physiology and technology to know what was going on.

"Now you're just being rude," he said. "That's now way to treat an old friend."

"Friend? _Friend_?" Kup said. "By the unmaker. . ."

"Been there, done that," the Doctor quipped. "You're still angry about that? It's been what. . ."

"Since the dawn of time," Kup said. "You dragged me all the way back to Cybertron's creation, and after everything that happened, you just expect me to welcome your presence with open arms?"

The ancient mech noticed the glance between Hot Rod and Prowl. Hot Rod cocked an optic ridge in question. Kup ignored him.

"It all worked out fine, so what do you have to complain about?" the Doctor asked.

"Plenty," Kup said. "C'mon. Follow me. Disobeying is not an option."

88888

Optimus Prime walked into the rec room, as requested. He found Kup, Hot Rod and Prowl corralling a solitary human who paced back and forth. The man stopped when he saw the other bot walking into the room.

"Kup, what's going on?" Optimus asked.

"We have a problem," Kup said, pointing at the human.

"An unknown human," Optimus said. "Why didn't you alert Lennox and the others?"

"Because he's not human, and there are protocols that have been in place millions of years because of the being you're looking at," Kup said. "Protocols enacted by the original 13 Primes."

"You should know," the Doctor said. "You were there."

"Shut up," Kup said.

"Kup, what is going on?" Optimus asked.

"This is the Doctor," Kup said. "He's the last of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. And we've crossed paths before. Protocol regarding the Doctor dictates the Prime should be notified immediately. Second, it's up to you to decide what we do with him next."

"How am I supposed to know what to do with him if someone doesn't explain?" Optimus said.

"I'm the Doctor," he said. "Simple enough. And you are?"

"Optimus Prime"

The big mech went down on one knee to get a better look at what in his culture, amounted to a serious threat. Measures such as the protocols Kup mention dictated caution, and he was going to be. But that didn't mean he couldn't be courteous.

"A Prime," the Doctor said. "Only one?"

"I'm the last of the Primes," Optimus said. "Or the first in a very long time, depending on how you look at it."

"What happened?"

"That is a story long in the telling," Optimus said.

"It can wait," Kup said. "I want to know what you're doing _here_."

"This island, or Earth?"

"Start with Earth," Kup said.

"I like Earth," the Doctor answered. "As to being here, sometimes the TARDIS doesn't exactly pop out where I direct it. You know that. Now-back to the Primes-what happened?"

"War," Optimus said.

"How did it start? When?"

"My brother," Optimus said.

The doctor stopped pacing, looking at Optimus as if he were seeing him for the first time-truly seeing.

"Brother?"

"Don't you recognize Optimus?" Kup asked, arms crossed.

"No. Should I?" the Doctor said.

"He was called Orion back then," Kup said.

The Doctor's jaw dropped. Kup stifled a grin. It wasn't often a being got one over on the Doctor.

"No. Seriously? Little Orion?" he said, grinning. "I remember seeing you when you were just a hatchling, Megatron, too. . ."

He trailed off, thinking. War. . .brother. . .Megatron.

"Megatron started a war?"

"Cybertron is lost to us, and we consider Earth our home now," Optimus said. "Those of us that have made it here."

"Wow," the Doctor said.


	3. Chapter 3

Invasion  
Chapter 3  
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin. "Doctor Who" and the TARDIS belong to the BBC.  
"Doctor, please excuse us," Optimus said, grabbing Kup, dragging him outside.  
"Kup, I'd like an explanation," Optimus said. "He looks human. . ."  
"He. Is. Not. Human." Kup said.  
"Fine. Then start with why there are protocols regarding this alien dating back to the founding of the Dynasty of the Primes," Optimus said. "What did he mean, you were there?"  
"I was," Kup said.  
"You're that old?"  
"I'm not that old," Kup said.  
Optimus raised an optic ridge. "Really?"  
Kup frowned, letting the comment slide. "I met the Doctor on my first assignment with the civilian security forces," Kup said. "I was straight out of the academy. That first jaunt was nothing. . .it was the one that came after. . .let's just say some people believe in what they can't see. I've seen with my own optics."  
"And the protocols?" Optimus asked.  
"They came into being after my second trip with the Doctor," Kup said. "The 13 decided to enact the protocols after what happened. Most of Cybertron will never know what a debt we owe the Doctor, but at the same time, the whole damn thing was his fault. . ."  
"Kup," Optimus warned, trying to get the ancient mech back on task.  
"It's a story for another time," Kup said.  
"What exactly is a Time Lord?" Optimus said.  
"They're from Gallifrey, and the Doctor is the last of them," Kup said. "I don't know how that makes me feel, honestly. I should be happy they're gone, but at the same time, I'm grateful one of them is still around."  
"You're not making much sense," Optimus said.  
"Nothing about the Doctor makes much sense," Kup said. "C'mon. Might as well let him explain it to you."  
88888  
They went back inside, where the Doctor was regaling Prowl and Hot Rod with a story. Hot Rod had grin on his face, Prowl's expression was unreadable.  
"If you want to know the rest, you'll have to ask Kup," the Doctor said, giving the ancient mech a sidelong glance as he returned with Optimus. "He can tell you all about the only female Prime ever in existence."  
Optimus crossed his arms, giving Kup a questioning look.  
"Never mind that," Kup said.  
"Solara Prime liked you," the Doctor said.  
Kup did not need a reminder of that. He would've stayed. Really.  
"You would've made a good consort," the Doctor said.  
"I couldn't stay with her," Kup said. "I had my own time and responsibilities to return to. Hot Rod, wipe that grin off your face. Help Prowl guard the TARDIS. Optimus and I are going to have a little talk with the Doctor."  
Kup motioned for the Time Lord to follow, and he walked behind the two towering Cybertronians as they walked outside. This visit to Earth was turning out to be more interesting than he could have anticipated.


End file.
